AUSTRALIAN CITY MOVES TO BAN CONTROVERSIAL TOURISM SLOGAN

The travel industry is no stranger to ridiculous tourism slogans – but one has been deemed so offensive that one city council has moved to ban it.

Darwin City Council this week voted to ban products adorned with “CU in the NT”, the unofficial slogan of the Northern Territory in Australia, from being sold at local markets.

The group behind the unofficial campaign, NT Unofficial, launched the slogan in 2016 with the tagline: “The Top End. Different from the bottom end.” The campaign, to promote awareness of the Australian state, soon went viral.

As well as promoting the Northern Territory via its website and social media, the group sells a wide range of merchandise emblazoned with the slogan, including t-shirts, flip-flops and hats.

The motion to ban the products from sale at public markets in Darwin was passed by council officials this week, according to local media, who labelled the slogan immature and offensive.

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Tourism Australia has issued a tender for public relations services in China.

Tourism Australia has issued a tender for public relations services in China.

The tender includes two service components, and agencies may participate in only one. The first encompasses: strategic PR programs, media relations and publicity, content and editorial, hosting programs, influencer programs, social media, brand and reputation management, and business events.

The second service component is for social media only.

The length of contract will be 24 months from August 1, 2019, to July 30, 2021, with an option to extend for another 12 months.

The tender is set to close on April 8, according to search documents. Shortlisted agencies will be notified on May 20. Presentations will take place from June 10 to 14, and the final decision will be announced on July 12. 

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Premier Mark McGowan backs tourism claims, calling Perth ‘natural gateway’ to Australia

Premier Mark McGowan has backed in his tourism minister by calling Perth the “natural gateway” to Australia, as the government distances itself from the common adage about WA’s capital being the most isolated city on the planet.

Tourism minister Paul Papalia decreed the view of Perth being the world’s most remote city as “outdated” and had a dig at Federal tourism authorities for not giving WA a fair share of tourism campaigns compared to the east coast.

Mr McGowan said WA was far closer to Asia than the eastern states.

“I think what the tourism minister is trying to say is that we need to promote ourselves as a gateway into Australia for tourists in particular from Asia and other parts of the world,” he said.

“If you want to fly direct from London you can fly to Perth, we’re closer than Sydney or Melbourne if you want to come in to Australia from Japan or China or from India it’s far easier to come in via Perth.

“We’re the natural gateway to Australia for many of our tourists and that’s what we’re trying to promote around the world.”

Mr McGowan talked up the tourism capabilities of the recreational fishing industry at an event hosted by peak body RecFishWest this morning.

“What we want to do is promote this opportunity around Australia and potentially around the world as something where you can come and have a great experience and have a great fun time and you can have a great holiday in WA,” he said.

“Paul Papalia is currently in India seeking direct flights out of India, we are doing everything we can to enhance our tourism industry and recreational fishing is part of that.”

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King-sized sun blunder in Federal tourism campaign for WA

An embarrassing blunder in material to be used in a Federal tourism campaign — where a couple are pictured at Kings Park watching the sun set in the east — will be corrected before it is distributed.

The image is part of a campaign to be launched today by Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham to lure Brits to Australia by showcasing lesser-known and relatively untapped tourist spots.

When alerted to the mistake by The West Australian — the sun sets in the west — a spokesman for Tourism Australia said it would be fixed before it was released on social media.

The UnDiscover Australia campaign will feature several images of WA destinations.

But WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said WA was being left out of too many east coast-centric tourism campaigns. He will raise the imbalance when he meets Mr Birmingham in Launceston this morning.

“The east coast has experienced a tourism boom, which is understandable given the profile and attention Sydney and its neighbouring cities receive when the Federal Government markets our country to the world,” Mr Papalia said. “WA does not benefit in the slightest from those east coast-centric marketing campaigns.

“We are now calling on our Federal counterparts on both sides of politics to ensure WA is given a comparable amount of market time.

“We are the western gateway to the country and as air space and accommodation reach capacity in Sydney and Melbourne, Perth and our beautiful regions will help Tourism Australia continue to grow visitor numbers.

“Now is the time to invest in tourism in our great State.”

Mr Birmingham rejected the suggestion WA was ignored, citing the UnDiscover Australia campaign as another example where WA was featured.

“We already see more than 149,000 British travellers head to WA each year, injecting more than $277 million into the local economy,” he said. “But we think there is huge potential to expand the tourism appeal of WA through this campaign.

“The more British tourists we can lure to WA the more cash they will splash in local businesses which helps to boost the economy and create more local jobs.

“Australia has a strong reputation with British travellers as a beautiful destination with friendly people, however we must continue to expand our appeal.

“This campaign is about showing prospective travellers that Australia has even more to offer than the Reef, the Rock and the Bridge.”

Britain is the latest market to be targeted in the UnDiscover Australia campaign. The original focus was a$10 million campaign in India, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with Japan later.

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